Accel World Tetsuo, suchīrubūsutā no densetsu
by EpicHaltehk
Summary: Tetsuo is drawn into the exciting world of Brain Burst, forging his own legend. As he aims for the top spot amongst all Burst Linkers, he'll have to overcome many obstacles and fend off attacks everywhere he goes.
1. Invitation

**Chapter One**

**Invitation**

**I**t was the first day of Senior year, the entirety of the school was in the gymnasium to hear the student council president's commencement speech. The president was droning about working hard and team spirit, the same speech everyone had heard from authority figures at some point during their school life, and most could probably recite the general idea off the top of their heads.

Tetsuo was zoning out the speech entirely, looking at e-mails from his friends, wondering if it was worth the trouble of diving. As he looked round, one of his class mates caught his eye. Mikohina Sayu, the class representative for 3-A. He shot her a smile and a wave, before sending her a message.

**MESSAGE: **Sayu-kun, how was your summer break, did you do anything exciting?

**REPLY:** I had a really good summer actually; I went to Osaka to see my grandmother and met a lot of new friends. Meet with me after school at the game shop in town, I have something exciting to show you.

**REPLY:** Okay, I'll meet you there around 4ish, I have to grab some soy sauce for my mother.

The short exchange between the two of them ended, deciding not to dive, Tetsuo loaded a video and began to watch, trying to look like he was paying attention to what was being said.

The rest of the day passed without incident, the teachers all game the same speech about dedication to study and achievement, how this was their final year of school before some of them went on to college. He was also briefed on the year's curriculum as well as their responsibilities to their lower classmen.

Finally, the bell rang for the end of school. Tetsuo picked up his bag, and made his way to the bus stop. As he was waiting for the bus, he couldn't help but wonder what Sayu had to show him which she couldn't show him at school. The bus soon came, and he made his way into the local shopping district to pick up his mother's soy sauce and meet Sayu. Shortly after he sat down, the bus arrived at Tetsuo's destination, and he disembarked.

Tetsuo quickly popped into the convenience store, picked up his mother's things and made his way to the game shop. When he arrived, Sayu was waiting out front for him. The two greeted each other and made their way inside the shop.

"So, Sayu-kun, what was it you wanted to show me?" Tetsuo asked casually

"Before I do, direct link with me, it's very important that this is kept secret." Sayu responded in a hushed tone, handing him the other end of her cable.

Tetsuo, plugged it in, and almost immediately he received a pop-up notification to receive the file Brain_ . He didn't accept right away, not because he didn't trust Sayu, they had been good friends since lower school, but because he had never heard of anyone who used this program.

What is it? Tetsuo asked over the link

It's a very special kind of game, my cousin gave it to me in Osaka and it's the most fun I've ever had. Sayu replied

Okay, gimmie a minute to install it Tetsuo said.

He pushed the install button on the notification, and the link wire seemed to burst into flame as the new game installed itself into his neuro-linker. Soon it was done, and he received the notification '**WELCOME TO THE ACCELERATED WORLD**'.

Accelerated World? Tetsuo queried Sayu

Oh good, it installed properly. Now I can tell you everything you need to know for now. Brain Burst is a very special game, it accelerates the user's brain to 1,000 times it's speed and sends them into a VRMMO where they fight for the ability to keep accelerating, with the eventual goal of reaching level 10. Every user of Brain Burst has a unique avatar which the program creates from the user's mental scars. Sayu explained

So, how do I open it to play? I can't find a launcher anywhere. Tetsuo asked

I'll have to explain the rest to you tomorrow, tonight; you're going to have a scary dream while the program creates your duel avatar. So for now, disconnect from the internet, and don't switch it back on until you get to school tomorrow. That part is really important. Sayu told him

So, you've stuck me with a game I can't launch, will cause me to have a nightmare when I go to sleep tonight and for some unknown reason, have told me I can't even go online until I get to school tomorrow. This had better be worth it Sayu. Tetsuo stated

Oh it will be. Anyway, I've got to go, meet with me tomorrow inside the school gates before classes start and I'll finish my explanation, I have some preparations to make in game. Sayu said as she disconnected her cable from Tetsuo's neuro-linker.

Placing her cable away, she swung her bag on her back and dashed out of the store, shooting Tetsuo a wave, a wink and a smile over her shoulder as she went. Tetsuo sighed, disabled the internet connection on his neuro-linker and headed home, feeling anxious out the coming night's dream.

Tetsuo soon arrived at his door and entered his modest home, calling out to his mother that he had returned from school. Hearing no reply, he placed his mother's soy sauce in the cupboard and went to his room to start on the day's homework. An hour and a half later he was finished, he placed his books back into his bag and headed for the shower before he changed into his regular clothes.

The evening passed uneventfully, he watched an old 2D film on his computer and read some of his manga, mainly to stave off the bredom of being unable to dive or call his friends. The evening soon turned into night, Tetsuo looked at the time on his HUD and decided to go to bed, realising he probably wouldn't have the best night's sleep. He changed into his sleepware and laid on top of his bedsheet, waiting to fall asleep.

Tetsuo's eyes shot open, though it wasn't much help, he was surrounded by an empty blackness, he tried to call out to someone to no avail, his cries were muffled. Getting to his feet he moved to walk around, when out of the blackness, heavy chains bound him tight, the blackness closed in on him, the chains pulling in solid metal walls to box him in, followed by a loud, dull clang as the walls closed in together, appearing to seal him in, he was trapped. He could hear voices outside, telling himm he was a good-for-nothing bum like his late father, that he'd amount to nothing, that he was a disappointment to his family. The vices got louder, comparing him to his successful older brother, then he heard Sayu's voice,.drowning out the rest of them "Look at you, you've trapped yourself, you'll never escape the box you've placed yourself in, you may think you've changed, but to everyone at school you're always going to be a deliquent good-for-nothing, trapped in your little self centred box. I know you like me, I've seen you looking, but girls like me don't go out with deliquents like you, I nly hang around with you because it means the rest of the scum at school will leave me alone." A black ooze began to fill the box, seeping in from every gap possible, covering Tetsuo, finally drowning him. Tetsuo was panicing, he screamed once more, protesting his change from deliquent to star pupil, protesting he'd succed at life, screaming defiance at all of the nay sayers and peple who's doubted him, his scream broke the box, the ooze dissipated, the chains dropped around his feet. A light appeared ahead of him, he began to run, run past all of the voices, reaching toward the light, willing himself to get more speed, to get there faster, to accelerate beyond every barrier in his way, then as he reached the light, mere centimeters from his finger tips, he let out one last triumphant roar and jumped toward it.

Tetsuo shot up in bed, he had broken out in a cold sweat, his alarm was buzzing in his ear. He looked around, we was back in his bedroom, on his bed. The time on his HUD was displaying 7:30am. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Tetsuo got out of bed and got ready for school. After his dream last night, he couldn't wait to hear what Sayu had to say about Brain Burst, about his dream and about the Accelerated World.


	2. Activation

**Chapter Two**

**Activation**

**T**etsuo arrived at school and crossed the boundary into the school's network area, looking for Sayu. He quickly spotted her, chatting with her friends about last night's gossip on whichever reality TV show happened to be popular at the minute. He signalled over to her, and she excused herself from her conversation and went to greet him.

Morning Tetsuo-kun, I assume last night wasn't the best you've had. Sayu greeted him sympathetically

No it wasn't, you told me it would be a scary dream, but it was like every bad experience I've ever had all rolled into one dream. Tetsuo replied

Well, that's the only time you'll have to have it, the program has finished calibrating and has made your personal duel avatar. Now let's see what you got. Sayu stated

How do I do that? Tetsuo asked

First, re-initialize your internet connection on your neuro-linker, then let me know when you're done. Sayu replied

Tetsuo turned his internet back on and signalled to Sayu that it was all running again. Sayu dragged him away from the crowd at the gate into a quiet corner. She handed him the link cable and plugged in her end, Tetsuo followed her lead and plugged in his end.

Okay, now this works wirelessly, but I think your first match should be done securely with someone who isn't going to out you as soon as you log in. So in a moment, you're going to say "Burst Link", when that happens I'll continue explaining.

Sayu nodded to him, and both of them exclaimed "Burst Link". The second the words left his mouth, the world around him seemed to shudder to a halt, everything has become covered with a light blue tint. Tetsuo looked at his hand, nothing appeared to have changed, maybe a rendering error in the program, he wondered. Then suddenly, power seemed to well from within him, armour began to spread from his mid section at a rapid pace, enveloping him. He looked at his now armoured hands and legs, an inner smile began to bubble up, Tetsuo felt positively badass.

In front of him stood a slender looking feminine, black robot, it's face was smooth with green robotic eyes as it's only distinguishable feature, a sleek looking head covering which could only be described as it's hair left much of the face covered. The body was well proportioned, a scarf was wrapped around the neck, with one of it's tails flowing gracefully down the back. The torso, forearms, backhand, shins and upper foot seemed to be lightly armoured, and a belt loaded with shard implements adorned it's waist.

The robot waved at Tetsuo in a friendly manner, Tetsuo waved back.

"So, what do you think? Pretty awesome looking right?" The robot asked

Tetsuo immediately recognised the voice as Sayu's, he couldn't believe his eyes, even though it looked completely different from Sayu, he could still vaguely recognise her.

"That looks pretty awesome Sayu, so, how do I look, do I look cool?" Tetsuo asked excitedly, any anger or fear he had, rapidly vanishing.

Sayu looked Tetsuo over, he was polished chrome in colour, and the build could only be described as a mix between muscular and athletic. He reminded her of a European medieval knight. He appeared to be well armoured, with all of the vital points well protected, as well as a sense of overall reinforcement. As she walked around him, she could see no usable weaponry, however, his back, his wrists and the back of his calves appeared to have what could only be described as jet boosters. Other key parts of his body, appeared to have extra panelling, like his knuckles. Sayu returned to Tetsuo's front and gave him a thumb up.

"You look cool to me." Sayu said with a confident air in her tone.

"So, where do I get to enter a name for myself?" Tetsuo asked

"Your name is already decided, that's what determines your powers and properties, look above you and you'll see two name plates, one will say 'Jet Shinobi' which is my name and the other one says 'Steel Booster'. Wow, that's a good pull, Steel is a quite high saturation of the Silver colour family, it's immune to Impact Damage and Slashing Attacks, high resistances to Corrosion and Fire attacks, but weak against Cold Damage, Piercing Attacks, Electric Attacks and Rusting. It has good offensive and defensive capabilities, but severely lacking in speed and manoeuvrability.

"So, I've Steel Booster, and you're Jet Shinobi, so what's that timer in the middle?" Tetsuo asked.

"That's the battle timer, each battle is 18 minutes long, which translates as 1.8 seconds in real time. The areas you fight in, are digitally reconstructed from live images from social cameras. So, now to teach you the basics; first off you start off with an allotment of Burst Points, 100 to be exact, each time you accelerate it costs one point. You fight other Burst Linkers to win points, duels at your level are worth 10 points, duels at higher levels are worth your level difference times 10 in points if you win, and 10 points times your level if you lose. If you run out of burst points the game uninstalls and you forget about everything to do with it."

"But you can just give me the program again if that happens, right?" Tetsuo asked cautiously

"Unfortunately, once Brain Burst has been uninstalled, it can never be reinstalled." Sayu explained with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"That's sad. So, back to fights, what moves do I have, you said I had a rare colour right? Does that mean I have some super-cool moves?" Tetsuo asked impatiently

"Your moves are in the menu...look I'll show you." Sayu explained, showing Tetsuo how to use the in-game menu.

"As, so I have; punch, kick and body slam, and my special move is Boost Rush" Tetsuo said, reading off his skill list. "So, it looks like I'm ready to go."

"Almost, there is one very important rule of Accelerated World, never under any circumstances, reveal our identity to any other Burst Linker." Sayu warned.


	3. Instigation

**Chapter Three**

**Instigation**

**T**etsuo spent the rest of the day thinking about what Sayu had told him that morning; already he was planning his first move very carefully. He was considering going for a level 2 or level 3 player, to try and rack up a decent lead, while still being able to accelerate to recover his points in weaker ranked battles if he lost.

He had arranged to meet up with Sayu later that evening outside the school gates so he could be introduced to her legion and possibly taken in. She had explained to him all about the different legions, how they worked, about the Kings of Pure Colour and about the non aggression policy they had with each other, all except Nega Nebulous; the Black Legion headed up by the deadly Black Lotus and her trump card, Silver Crow, the only flying avatar in all of Accelerated World.

They day seemed to crawl by, and Tetsuo was resisting the urge to take an 'acceleration break' and find a match during class to break the day up a bit, though he decided against it, he had promised Sayu that he wouldn't. The hours crawled by, class after class, time seemed to move slower now that he had felt the thrill of accelerating for the first time, and he hadn't even been in a real match yet.

Finally the day was over, Tetsuo raced home to complete his homework so it wouldn't be looming over his head later. When he got home, he dashed straight into his room and began to power write his home work for Classic Japanese Literature, it was a simple 1,000 word essay on the book they had been reading. Within an hour and a half he had finished it, which meant he still had an hour before he had to be at the school gates.

He decided to shower and freshen up, trying to clear his head so he'd be ready for anything when he met up with Sayu. Tetsuo was trying as hard as he could to fill up time before he had to leave, frantically checking the time until it was reasonable to leave. Just as he was about to leave, Tetsuo's mother called him into the kitchen.

"Tetsuo, where are you heading? His mother asked sternly

"I'm just heading out to meet some friends mum." Tetsuo replied nonchalantly

"Which friends?" His mother enquired

"Just Sayu and a couple of her friends, she made them on summer break and wants me to meet them." Tetsuo said

"Okay, they had better not be in some kind of gang, I don't want to trouble we had during middle school all the way up to freshman year."

Tetsuo's mother said warningly

"No mum, it's nothing like that, we're just getting together to play a new social game. I've made sure to do all of my homework and I'm doing well in class. I don't want to be a good-for-nothing mum, I promise." Tetsuo reassured her.

His mother gave him a nod of approval and a kiss on the forehead before he ran out of the door. He got into the lift and took it down to the ground floor before walking out of the lobby and running down the street. Fifteen minutes later he arrived at the school gates, a little out of breath.

"Tetsuo-kun you made it. This is Kuno, Ishida and Gekki. Guys this is the new recruit I wanted to introduce you to." Sayu said introducing everyone

"Hey guys, how's it going?" Tetsuo greeted the group

"Not bad newbie, so are you ready to meet the legion?" Gekki asked

"Sure, I can't wait" Tetsuo replied

"Okay then, well on 3, ready; 1...2...3" Gekki counted down

A collective yell of 'Burst Link' was audible, then there they were, in the warped version of the area they were standing in. Tetsuo looked up at the names of the people he had just accelerated with; Jet Shinobi, Lylac Dancer, Tan Bull and Blood Basher. The three new avatars looked intimidating. Tetsuo looked at the match-up list Shinobi was a level 5, Dancer and Bull were 6 while Basher was a veritable powerhouse at level 8.

Welcome to the Purgatory stage Booster. Basher said in what sounded like a menacing tone.

Don't bother taking in the scenery, after tonight, you won't even be able to remember Accelerated World. Bull laughed

Sayu, what is this? Tetsuo shouted angrily

Sorry Tetsuo, there is no legion; we were all kicked out of ours for breaking the non aggression pact. That doesn't stop us from picking off newbies who aren't allied with anyone. I recruited you so Basher could reach level 9 by taking all your points. Sayu said, loosing her innocent tone

Why? Why would you tell me about this marvellous world, introduce me to it then take it away from me? Tetsuo yelled

It's nothing personal, you were just a sucker who came along at the right time. It was either you or me, and personally, I like it here. Once we're all powered up, we're going to take on the legion kings, reach level 10 and become gods. You should know what we want, you yourself used to be the most feared delinquent in the area, it kinda made me hot for you when you were like that, now you're just a boring nerd. Sayu goaded

Tetsuo glared at the four bullies encircling him, he knew nothing about how they fight, their strengths or weaknesses, only that even one-on-one they'd be a near impossible fight. Then before he could react, Dancer came charging at him, jumping and spinning, her razor sharp blades looking to be coated in his blood. Tetsuo tried to dodge, but he was simply too slow, an agonising pain tore through his abdomen as Dancer's scimitar tore though his gut. He looked up at his life bar, it had taken a huge hit, however, the yellow bar beneath it had almost filled. Dancer landed away from him, and then Bull came charging at him, Tetsuo thought quickly about what Sayu had told him about his form, he was vulnerable to piercing but immune to impact damage, if he could time it right, he could avoid Bull's horns and nullify the damage. Quickly as he could Tetsuo shuffled slightly to the side, nanoseconds later Bull collided with him, Tetsuo didn't even flinch, but Bull's arm had been torn off, using this against him, Tetsuo followed up with a drop kick. Bull had lost a huge chunk of his health, and Tetsuo's yellow bar was full, he thought about his special move, and decided the time wasn't right. He knew he was going to loose, but they'd have to work for every last one of his points if they were going to get them, he wasn't going down quietly. Tetsuo landed a final body slam on Bull depleting the rest of his life bar.

The sound of clinking metal behind him told him Dancer was going in for another attack, Tetsuo wondered what had taken him this long to continue attacking, all he had been doing was destroying random items on the field. Dancer charged in, this time Tetsuo was ready, he could see the movement pattern, it was choreographed for speed, but choreographed none the less, as the scimitar came at him, Tetsuo stepped back enough to dodge it, then countered with an elbow to Dancer's back, putting him on the floor, Tetsuo didn't hesitate, going for a clean headshot with his foot, as the two connected, Dancer's life bar instantly became almost empty, this was quickly followed with an elbow drop, finishing off Dancer.

Tetsuo counted two down, however, Sayu looked quick, and Basher was a brute, weighing up his options, Tetsuo realised he could kill two birds with one stone. He turned to face Basher and pointed at him, saying nothing.

You think you can take me newbie. I'll admit, I'm impressed you took out Dancer and Bull, but you don't stand a chance against me, see while I've been standing here, I've been slowly taking damage from the environment, just enough so it tickles, but it's been filling my special move bar, and let's not forget, there's still innocent little Sayu to deal with. Basher bragged

Tetsuo began walking towards Basher; the brute also began moving to him, steadily gaining speed, his giant-like feet crashing into the floor damaging it, with each footstep gaining him more and more on his special gauge. Basher started to glow, increasing in size with spikes starting to protrude from him. Tetsuo suspected one hit from Basher would end it, but he had a plan, a plan to end basher's attack and deal with the backstabbing Sayu.

Basher was almost on top of Tetsuo, and he knew Sayu was rushing in for a sneak attack to finish the job. Tetsuo took a step back and suddenly flew into the air, the jets on his body working at maximum capacity to send him skyward. By this time Basher had started his heavy swing, as he started to sow his ascent, he heard Sayu cry out in pain, her life bar was almost depleted. Tetsuo began to rotate in the air so he was facing the ground, Basher had stopped moving, and looked like he was recovering stamina, and Tetsuo saw his opportunity, he engaged his boosters to max and began his special attack, Boost Rush, the additional panels on his knuckles opened out, as did the ones on the side of his arms, Spikes were now protruding from his fists and blades from his arms, he crashed into Basher at near terminal velocity. Basher hit the floor in a slump; his avatar had been reduced to a large puddle of gore. Tetsuo crashed into the floor moments later unscathed. He turned to face Sayu and walked toward her.

Repent now and keep your Burst Points Tetsuo said in an unmistakably powerful tone.

How, how are you so powerful? You should have lost already, and yet here you stand, almost the victor. Sayu asked, confused.

A sharp pain drove itself into Tetsuo's spine, Sayu faded out of sight. Tetsuo turned around to see a near dead Sayu standing a few foot away, giggling.

A newbie is still a newbie. You honestly didn't consider my name enough did you? I can duplicate myself, as well as throw an array of assorted weapons, and heads up bad boy, that kunai in your back, has a added surprise. Sayu goaded again

The kunai in Tetsuo's back exploded, taking another large chunk off of his life bar, as Sayu vanished from the match leaving only a simple note on the floor. '_It's been a blast bad boy, next time we meet; I'll end you, Shinobi._' A notification appeared in front of Tetsuo's face.

**WINNER: 98bp 278bp**

The sound of cheering erupted from the surrounding rooftops, apparently Tetsuo's ambush match had caused quite a stir. However the cheering quickly stopped, as four figures emerged from the horizon...


End file.
